‘Blatant & brazen’: Russian lawmaker lambastes US ‘interference’ in Nord Stream 2 deal
Washington has absolutely no say in the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline deal, and pressuring Germany into dumping the project equates to meddling in other nations’ domestic affairs, Senator Konstantin Kosachev said.
The calls for Berlin to halt the pipeline’s construction are “blatant and brazen interference into the affairs of its sovereign partners,” something Washington “has no right to do,” the lawmaker wrote on social media on Sunday.
The Nord Stream 2 project is designed to deliver Russian natural gas to Germany across the Baltic Sea. The US Department of State earlier urged Berlin “to heed the concerns of the many neighbors whose security will be damaged by this pipeline.”
Kosachev, who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee, denounced the US attempts to pressure its NATO ally as “very dangerous for the whole world and destructive for international cooperation.”
“Such line of action goes directly against the interests of any state, which is not a US satellite.”
In recent weeks, Washington has stepped up its frequent attempts to derail the construction of the pipeline, citing European energy security and threats to US interests. On Monday, US Congress passed a resolution, calling for sanctions against the project. The US officials argued Moscow will use the pipeline for “coercive political aims,” and it will make Ukraine lose the transit fees it collects from transporting Russian gas to Europe.
Also on rt.com Russia may participate in construction of Trans-African railwayMoscow, however, views the US opposition to Nord Stream 2 as part of a scheme to gain an upper hand in the energy trade competition. Germany, too, has been rebuffing Washington’s calls to scrap the pipeline. “It would still be built,” the nation’s Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said two weeks ago.
Back in July, German Chancellor Angela Merkel slammed US President Donald Trump for suggesting that relying on gas from Russia makes Berlin a “captive” of Moscow. “We can say that we can make our independent policies and make independent decisions,” Merkel stressed.
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